- Meet Casey Wojtalewicz, a sustainable-style enthusiast and Canyon Coffee founder based in Los Angeles.
- This CEO's style is inspired by his commitment to the environment, growing up in the midwest, and living in LA.
Canyon Coffee CEO Casey Wojtalewicz describes his style as "plains-meets-the-coast." His typical outfit: A t-shirt under an oversized jacket, slightly cropped pants, and utilitarian boots.
"It's rooted in my upbringing in rural America, but with the liberation and exploration of living in California," he said of his style.
Wojtalewicz grew up in rural Minnesota and now lives in Los Angeles with his partner, Ally Walsh. Together they co-founded Canyon Coffee, a wholesale organic coffee roasting company. His style reflects his background as an environmental activist and his newer role as CEO.
He prefers casual, refined clothing that can take him from the coffee warehouse to a meeting, in addition to brands that are transparent in sourcing and use sustainable products.
He shared his outlook on style, some of his favorite brands, and advice on building your own look.
Style can reflect your values and growth
Wojtalewicz's style has evolved around his values and his location. He said he still dresses in a way that would fit in with his rural hometown but is also inspired by his lifestyle in LA. His wardrobe has also evolved because of his profession.
"I'm a CEO trying to become more refined, a little more clean, and deliberate in the choices I'm making," Wojtalewicz said.
Neutral, earthen, casual, and comfortable are words Wojtalewicz uses to describe his look. While brand names aren't important to him, he said he supports companies that align with his values.
"I do promote and care about brands who are doing good work, in terms of making products of quality and making the effort to be transparent with their supply chain and production," he said.
Sustainable clothing and skincare are the future
Even though sustainability has always been important to Wojtalewicz, he sees this as a trend that's gaining momentum. He thinks brands that are transparent and sustainable are the future.
"It's a newer development that clothing companies are speaking and showing their process more and being better about their impact," he said.
One apparel brand that inspires him is Christy Dawn — a dress company that has a "farm-to-closet" collection made from a regenerative cotton farm in India. Others are Jungmaven, a high-quality hemp clothing brand, for its integrity and commitment to sustainability, and Olderbrother for its toxin-free process that uses natural dyes like tannins and indigo in its clothing.
Besides buying from sustainable brands, Wojtalewicz also recommends shopping vintage, recycled, upcycled, or secondhand clothes. He likes browsing the Rose Bowl in Los Angeles or sifting through the vintage sections of boutique stores.
Find trends and brands that fit who you are now
For Wojtalewicz, part of evolving in his style was checking in with himself to ensure the way he dressed still aligned with him. Some brands he used to wear in his teenage years and 20s no longer serve him.
"It's important at different stages of your life to reassess, am I just buying this because it's what I'm used to now? Is this still what I want to project?" he said.
Now that he's in a relationship, he said his partner also influences what he buys. He wants to make sure she likes it, too. And sometimes, they share clothes. He recently found a women's jacket in the vintage section of a boutique in Venice that they both wear.
"That's actually one trend that I've seen that I am a big fan of — unisex clothing," he said.
He encourages people to have fun exploring different clothing, styles, and trends. But, at the same time, he said to only follow a trend if it works for you.
Add a finishing touch to your signature style
Recently, Wojtalewicz and his team at Canyon Coffee had a hand in creating limited-run merchandise for the brand. Since they're a certified organic roaster, they made sure to work with local vendors and use organic materials. For the signature Canyon Coffee hand-sewn sweatshirts, the finishing touch was hand-dying them in their own coffee.
The bourbon brand Angel's Envy also experiments with flavor profiles created by hand blending small batches. The premium bourbon is aged in charred new white oak barrels for four to six years and then finished up to six months in ruby port wine barrels, creating a nuanced yet approachable flavor profile.
For Wojtalewicz, the finishing touch on his outfits is a rolled-up and cuffed sleeve, and sunglasses with a leather strap made by his friends.
"I like the look for some reason, I guess it's more of a tapered effect," he said.
"And I guess that's a part of feeling a little more refined."
Learn more about how Angel's Envy handcrafts its bourbon here.
This post was created by Insider Studios with Angel's Envy.